If you are the kind who allows themselves to
be led around by an i-phone, who thinks a GPS knows the best roads, or who sees
life via a 3x5 screen, you probably won’t get this. But if you are kind of
person who wonders where roads go, who wanders where they will take you, and
isn’t afraid to keep going when the pavement stops, this is for you. I confess
to being a cartographic junkie, and have boxes of maps from places I have gone,
or plan to go. Spread out over a table they give me a much larger and better
perspective of routes to take, and will admit to even using Mapquest, blowing it
up so you can see all the roads that don’t appear when asking directions. Now I
have been led astray before, taking the back road off 198 to Parkfield, it
started out smooth and curvy, then turned to dirt, then pot holes and dirt, then
wash boards. Add in the cows on the road, and one who didn’t like my
motorcycle, I felt like I had been led astray, only feeling better when a sports
car greeted me from the other way, so when coming back from Monterey last week,
and a road showed up I had never taken, I was skeptical. I knew there had to be
more than just the state roads, keep me off the freeway, please, so I took the
chance. Looking for Cerronoreste Road, I turned where it should be, but it was
called something else, only a sign that said “I-5 40 miles” kept me going, the
road looked promising and I had a full tank of gas. Sp the ride
continued....
For the next 18 miles I saw some of the most
beautiful scenery I have ever seen, looked down on two huge valleys, and rode up
to over 6000’, never seeing another car. Great curves, a lot of 2-3rd gear
riding, even the old telephone poles were barren, no wires on them. I kept
going, hoping the 40 miles sign was accurate, and enjoying the ride, I wanted to
get away from it all, and finally did. Could it be this was the day Mapquest got
it right? With all thoughts of what was ahead, I kept going, and suddenly there
was a ranger station, then a golf course, then a small village, cheap gas, and
soon I could see the Grapevine. I had placed my trust in Mapquest and it didn’t
let me down. Now will I ever trust it again......
It took faith and a strong desire to find a
new road that day to let me trust Mapquest. I kept telling myself that the
person who laid this out never rode this road, so was driving by faith, not by
sight. As Christians we are told to walk by faith, not by sight, but too often
we lose sight in the one we are to have faith in. Three omnis about God are
forgotten until we go trembling in prayer to God, often times with no faith in
our requests either. We forget God is omnipotent, all powerful, if he could
create the heavens and earth by speaking them into existence, shouldn’t we
respect that kind of power? It is something to make something from something,
but God created the universe from nothing. When he promises us his spirit so we
don’t have to live in fear, but to live in power and self control, we have to
look no further than Jesus, who went to the cross willingly, a sacrifice of his
life for ours. Don’t you think this could make a difference in your life? Yet
he goes beyond power, beyond omnipotence, telling us “not by might, not by
power, but by his spirit.” The next omni...omniscient, all
knowing.
Before the beginning, while still in the womb,
God knew us and all about us. He knows everything, past, present, and future.
He knows all the details of your situation, and when you finally start to trust
him, you find your prayer life greatly changed. You listen to his advice rather
than explaining the situation to him. You trust rather than just strike out and
hope. If he cares for the sparrows, why do we act like he doesn’t care for us?
Or when things don’t go our way? He knows how many hairs on our head, the
grains of sand, and the words we will say and the actions we will take, long
before we do them. He knows you were gong to be reading this before you ever
decided to. Yet when we don’t trust him, don’t obey, or don’t follow the
spirit, we are telling him we know better, we are questioning his omniscience
and falsely claiming we know better. We can even trust his prophets and their
prophecies, for God’s truth is revealing the future to us. Nothing surprises
Jesus, nor does anything catch him off guard. Yet why do we say “God why have
you abandoned me?” What does he know we don’t? Inquiring minds still want to
know.
When we are told by Jesus “I will never leave
you nor forsake you,” we forget he is omnipresent. He is everywhere at once,
and there is no place you can go to escape his presence. The promise of on
earth as it is in heaven should remind us of that, that we don’t have to die
have the things of the spirit, we just need to trust and obey. Yet so many
church services start with “come holy spirit,” thinking he left us, when it is
us who have left him. We can talk to him because he is near, listen to him
because he is near, and have his peace and confidence because he is near.
Proving his presence by his son Jesus sent to walk among us, who ate our food,
felt our pain, died our death and was resurrected for us. We aren’t worshipping
a God only on Sunday, only in a sanctuary, or even just in a church setting. He
is acquainted with all aspects of our lives, with one warning. Don’t give Satan
too much power or recognition, he is a created being, and cannot be everywhere
at once. He is not in control, God doesn’t allow him to do one thing without
knowing it. By giving Satan credit or blaming him for your sins, you give him
power, but only God will forgive and save you. Have you asked yourself like the
Psalmist did, “who is like our God”?
So three questions need to be answered by you,
are you experiencing his power right now? Are you trusting in his will and his
wisdom? Are you conscious of his presence in your life? Add a fourth, are you
trusting enough to pray the four hardest words, “thy will be done?” Or are you
trusting him like you ride, by Mapquest or a GPS? Truly, you don’t know what
you are missing until you meet the Lord. Not know about him, but meet him. And
so God has provided those of us who ride times alone with him. New roads to
trust him on, to see his handiwork, to see him at work in your life. Something
to consider the next ride you go on, or the next decision you have to make.
By the way, I did find Cerronoreste Road, it
was at an intersection, that only led one way, to the top of a peak at over
8100’. Life will be full of peaks and valleys, don’t confuse them with highs
and lows, or trusting your own feelings. All things work together, both good
and bad, both known and unknown, for those who love the Lord. All. Omni. If
your God isn’t omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, it isn’t his fault.
It’s your choice. Which can give you a whole new outlook on the plans he has
for you, and why we need to seek him with our whole heart, mind, and spirit.
Long before GPS’s, God knew the way and Jesus was the way. With so many roads
and so little time, can you afford to go through life any other
way?
By the way, James Dean died on this date in
1955, you never know where the road you are on will lead you....but you can rest
assured in Christ.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com